Tire spreader



c. E. BRANICK 2,347,311

TIRE SPREADER A fiHZS, 1944.

Filed July 31, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 38 flu 0mm- 3a EHQRLEE E. ERFJNIEKApril 25, 1944. c. E. BRANICK TIRE SPREADER FiledJuly 31, 1940 2Sheets-SheetZ Patented Apr. 25, 1944 1 UNITED; smrses 2,347,311 V'rIrtSPREADER Ch'arles Earl Brani'ck; Fargo; N Dak.

Application Jilly 31,

My invention'relatesz to .animprovement in tire spreaders whereineitis-desired to provide a device designed particularly f or use with largesize -tiiecasings which willspreadthese casings to allowrinspection orrepair of the inner surface .orthe casing.

'It'is commonpracticeto spread-a tire casing for inspection andfor'repair by means of a tire --spreading'apparatus which draws the Qposite sides of the tire casing apart- .Some'ofethese machineshold thetire with the axis t ereof ver- -tical,-wl'1i1e others hold the tirewith ahorizontal axis; My tire spreader operates imadifierentmannerthanother spreaders in that it: hooks on both-:sides,butone-side;onlyris slidable and which requires therolling -irame on'thecarriage for the:- tread of the tire to slide. back on .while iitisbeing spread-Thus I providera construction ofzspreader whichisadaptedfor handling heavy truck, bus and tractortires.

"It is a purposeof the present invention to-pro- --vide a tire spreadingdevicelincludingea"table or I 'fram uponwhicl'r the tire is placedand toprovide a frame readily slidable longitudinally thereof so that asthetire is spread, the carriage supporting the-tire; moves withthetire-to :assist the spreading-action; Thisconstruction eliminates thefriction-usually encountered inthe spreading -01 tires and facilitatesthe spreading operation.

It is .a purpose of the present :invention; -to pro- ,vide anelongatedrfra-me .upon whichthe tire is edesigned to .rest and toprovide a' stationary. set toi engaging: means on saidfnameengageablewifih l one side ofthe tire casing. "A movable spreading.elementisdongitudirially slidable on" the frame and is-provided withhooksto engage the-other v ,rSidS-Of the tirecasing, -A hydraulic:cylinder or the like is interposed between the fixed and movableportions; supporting the'fixed-andwmovable -tire engaging meansins-order to mov these tire engaging. means apartrto -spread' the tire.

I =It is-animportant feature of my'inventionthat the hook supportingmeans are readily adjustable L These-and other-objects and novelieatures of my inventiomwill be more .ii lly and clearly set aforthinthe followingspecification and claims. In the;drawings forming a part ofmyspecifi- 5 cation; I I

: @Figure' 1,, is -a perspective view of my tire r preader I V V I I V Ie Figure-2 isaside elevation view of the same. v w- Figure 3 atopplanview-of my tire; spreader. 10 Figure 4.is -a'cross-sectional viewthe-position --of thesection-beingindicated'by the line ii of Figure 3.Figure 5 lS 'avCIB GEiIfYiGW'Of' a portion'of the ,irame-designedto(engage the ramp or incline. 1 Figure 6 isa+perspective detail -of thesupport for the .tireengaging means.

- Figure '7 is a sideelevation-viewera-portion of the frame and the tiresupporting carriage. Figure8-is a top plan view-of the-carriage il-2;1ustrated in Figure 7..

Y Y 4 The tire spreader A-comprisesa pair-ofupright end supports lilyforming legs'at oneend of the frame,rand-a pair of hollow tubularuprights l I iirparallel spaced relation theretor Each-upright [Or-is;connected to its corresponding upright H *by "means; of apair-ofwertically spacedchannels -;l 2 -l and I3.;-:.'I'he uprights llare connected togethen-in parallel:spacedirelationby a transverse bracestrip l4 an'd byra'transversely extending ango gle I59 'I he-uprights l0areconnected in par- 7 al-lel spaced rrelationby -a pair 'of-transversely extending braces fli and I7; Thus a'substantially-recta=ngular frame is formed, each-side of which is comprised ofea'pairsof spacedparallel channelswith the parallelsides-thereof facing'out- I wardly, I i

Th -uprights ll are-provided with-telescopically-arranged tubes or rods19 which:project -l from the top of theuprights ill and which are 40connected byxa transverse bar. -Azpair of links 2 I and a central brace22 connect the cross member ZO witha bar 23 whichextends parallel tothebar 20in spaced relation-gthereto. A'pair .fOf' hooks24- arejournalled "at25 upon the bar 23 -and these-hooksare provided'iwithhoo'k ends .--or platesifi designed :to engage the inner surface:,zof"a"xtire'or within the beadof the same. It will nbe notedthatthe-hooks 24may :b'epivoted into or, outfit: engagement with the tire,and'it-will further :be noted that" the spacing of these hooks r-..';mayJbe' adjusted'to' spreada "greater or Smaller r-j. portion ofthe tire B. A set scre'wor thumb screw 1213's provided in one-bf theuprights ll en'gageable-"with one ofthdtubes eriods-19 to hold the samein properly'ad-justedrelationship.

of hollow tubular members 4|.

A pair of tubular sockets 30 are secured to the uprights I l and projectabove the top of the same. These sockets 36 are designed to selectivelyreceive a rod 3| upon which is adjustably secured a journal 32 of abracket 33 supporting the light 34. Th light 34 may be adjusted inposition and the rod 3| may be placed in either of the sockets 30 whereit will not interfere with the inspection or work being done.

A pair of inclined braces 35 are welded to the uprights l l and to theupper surface of the channel l2 to further support the uprights H. Theseinclined braces 35 are connected by a pair of transverse members 35which in turn are connected by a pair of inclined strips 31. The braceconstructed in this way guides the tire B into proper position as it isrolled onto the frame and, prevents the tire from coming too close tothe end of the frame.

A carriage 39 is mounted upon the upper channels l2 and is movablelongitudinally with respect thereto. The carriage is best illustrated inFigures '7 and 8 of the drawings, and includes a pipe or rod 40 uponwhich'is rotatably mounted a pair Hollow brackets 38, the constructionof which is best illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings, connected tothe end of the rod or tube 40 and the opposed brackets 38 are'conne'ctedby' connecting angles 43. Rollers 44 are pivotally secured on transverseaxes within the hollow brackets 38 and these rollers 44 project beneaththe bottom of the brackets 38 to engage the channels l2. 4 One side ofeach of the brackets 38 is extended to form a downwardly projecting arm45 which'extends beneath the level of the channels l2." A pin 46 in eacharm 45 extends beneath the channel I: to hold the carriage 39 in place.

As best'illustrated' in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, a pair ofvertical standards 41 are secured to a movable means which is movableiongitudinally of the frame. includes a pair of spaced arms 49 and 50provided on each side of the frame. These arms 49 and 50 are pivoted toaligned pivots which also support rollers 52. The rollers 52 rest uponthe lower channel l3. The other extreme ends of the arms 49 and 58 areall connected by a transversely extending'connecting channel 53. Thechannel 53 is provided with a socket 54 which accommo-i dates the end ofthe plunger rod 55 of the plunger 56 within the cylinder 51. Thus uponmovement of the'plunger rod 55 the arms 49 and 50 are drawnlongitudinally of the frame, drawing the rollers 52 along the tops ofthe channels 3.

A pair of downwardly extending bracket arms 58 are pivoted to the pivots5| and a pin 5| extends through these bracket arms beneath the channelI3. Thus the rollers 52 are held in place upon the surface of thechannels l3. A pair of brace arms 55 are secured to thebrackets 58 andsupport the pivots 56 of the rollers 51'. The rollers 51' engage theunder surface of the channels l3. The brackets 59 are connected to thepivots 56' and support rollers 60 which engage the upper surface ofthese channels I3; Thus the rollers 51 are held in engagement with theunder surface. of'the channels [3. The vertical supports 41 extendbetween the arms 55' and are secured thereto. Brace arms 6| connect thearms 55' with the supporting posts 47 to hold these posts in-verticalposition. Sockets 52, similar in purpose and construction to the sockets30 previously described, are welded to the posts 41 for supporting thelight bracket 33.

Springs 63 are secured to the vertical posts 41 and to ears 64 welded tothe inner surface of the channels [2 for normally drawing the verticalposts 41 toward the vertical supports l l. The plunger 56 within thecylinder 51 acts when operated to force the arms 49 and 50 away from thefixed supporting posts I I, drawing the vertical posts 41 therewith.During this longitudinal movement, the rollers 52, 51' and 60 ride uponthe upper and lower surface of the channels l3.

An incline or ramp 85 is provided by means of which a tire may be rolledonto the frame of the spreader. This ramp or incline comprises a pair ofspaced pipes 63 connected by a series of spaced connecting angles 61, Atransversely ex- "tending angle 69 is provided on the under surface of,the ramp or incline at the upper end the timethe tire is beingelevated.

The vertical upright posts 41. are provided with telescopically arrangedposts or rods II which are identical in form to the tubes or rods l9previously described. A transverse connecting member 12 connects theupper extremities of the posts 7 .l, and links'such as 13 connect thetransverse member 12 with a parallel spaced transversely extending rod14. v I A pair of hook arms 15 are journalled on the transverse rod 14and support hook ends 16 which engage the inner surface of the tire B.The operation of my tire spreader is believed clearly understood fromthe foregoing description. The air inlet 11 is connected through thevalve I9, the 'T connection 80 andthe pipe 8|, to the cylinder 51. The T80 is also connected through the valve 82 with anair outlet 83. When itis The moveable means desired to spread thetire, the valve 19 isoperated, admitting air fromthe air inlet 11 to the cylinder '51, movingthe plunger 56 therein and sliding the verticalposts or supports 41 awayfrom the vertical posts or supports H. The hooks l5 are thus pulled awayfrom the hooks 24, spreading the casing between the sides thereof.

' When the tire is spread, the valve 19 may be closed to hold the airwithin the cylinder 51 until it is desired to release the tire. In orderto releasethe tire from the hooks, the'valve 82 is opened, permittingthe compressed air within the cylinder 51 to exhaust through the outlet83, thus permitting the springs 63 to draw the vertical posts 41 towardthe postsll. As the spreading and contraction of the tire'takes place,the surface of the tire rests upon the carriage 39 and is thus movablysupported upon the spreader frame.

' In placing a tire on the spreaderor in removation of my tire spreaderand while I have en-' ing a casing from the spreader, this casing ortire B is rolled up or down the incline or ramp 65. When not in use,this ramp may be removed from engagement with the machine frame.

' The vertical posts 41 are well supported, being welded to the arms 49and 5D, the braces GI and the arms 55'. The links or brackets 53 mayconnect the arms 50 and 49 with the arms 55', thus forming a solidsupporting means for movably supporting the movable spreader arms.

Inaccordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles ofconstruction and operdeavored to set' forth the best embodimentsthereof, I desire to have it understoodthat obvious changes may be madewithin the scope of the following claims without departing from thespirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A tire spreader including an elongated horizontal frame, a movablecarriage longitudinally movable on said frame and designed to support acasing arranged transversely to the frame on a horizontal axis, hookmeans pivotally secured to said frame adjacent one end thereof, andrelatively movable hook means engageable with the other side of thecasing, and means for forcing the two hook means apart for spreading thecasing.

2. A tire spreader comprising an elongated horizontal frame, a pair ofvertical supports at one end of said frame, a transverse pivot rodsecured to said vertical Supports, a pair of hook arms pivotally andslidably journalled on said pivot rod, hook ends on said hook armsengageable with a side of a tire adapted to be placed transversely on ahorizontal axis on said frame, a pair of vertical supports movablymounted longitudinally of said frame, a transverse pivot rod secured tosaid last named vertical supports, a pair of slidably and pivotallymounted hook arms on said pivot rod, hook ends on said last named hookarms engageable with the other side of the tire casing, and means tomove said moveable supports longitudinally on said frame.

3. A tire spreader comprising an elongated frame having two tiers oflongitudinally extending tracks, vertical standards secured to one endof said frame, hooks pivoted to said standards, a moveable carriage onthe upper track of said frame and adapted to support a tire casingplaced thereon, a second moveable carriage on the lower track of saidframe, vertical standards secured to said second carriage, hooks pivotedto said carriage standards, and means to move said second carriagelongitudinally on said frame.

4. A tire spreader comprising an elongated frame having two tiers oflongitudinally extending tracks, a plurality of vertically adjustablestandards secured to one end of said frame, hooks pivoted to some ofsaid standards, a light-holding arm pivoted to one of said standards, amoveable carriage on the upper track of said frame and adapted tosupport a tire casing placed thereon, a second moveable carriage on thelower track of said frame, vertical standards secured to said secondcarriage, hooks pivoted to said carriage standards, and means to movesaid second carriage longitudinally on said frame.

5. A tire spreader comprising an elongated horizontal frame includinglongitudinally extending tracks, a pair of vertical standards movablymounted longitudinally of said frame, a second pair of vertical standardmeans secured in fixed relation at one end of said frame, hook meanspivoted to said standard means, said hook means engageable with oppositesides of a tire casing, and means for moving said movable supportslongitudinally on said frame.

CHARLES EARL BRANICK.

